Formosan Magpie, sometimes called Taiwan Blue Magpie,
is a very beautiful bird. Birding in Taiwan
participants, seeing it for the first time, always react with
words as “Wow! Gorgeous!”

Similar to the Swinhoe’s and Mikado Pheasants,
it is coloured black, blue, red and white, but it is usually
easier to locate and to see. With a body length, from beak tip
to tail tip of 63 to 69 cm, it is large, but not as large as the
pheasants. It is a species of hills and mountains, found at
elevations of 300 to 1200 m, but does not require the solitude
of the pheasants. Taiwanese who have a never seen a pheasant or
a Yellow Tit, have perhaps seen a Formosan Magpie. This bird
can be found in Yangmingshan
National Park, just to the north of Taipei, and so may be
familiar to people who don’t travel to Taiwan’s Central
Mountains, where Swinhoe’s and Mikado Pheasants, and Yellow Tit,
reside.

My most memorable encounter with Formosan Magpie
took place in November 2003, in Yangmingshan, where our group
saw ten magpies, flying in single-file, “long-tailed
formation,” through the park. “Wow! Gorgeous!”

I have been to Taiwan
7 times, and always enjoy the birds. On my first trip, in March
2003, the group and I were lucky to see two stunningly beautiful
male Swinhoe’s Pheasants on a rainy day at Beidongyenshan. I
promised myself that someday, I would be lucky enough to see a
Mikado Pheasant, too. That day came soon after.

Our Birding in Taiwan tour group was at
Anmashan in November, 2003; we were going to walk the famous
Trail 210 to look for pheasants, guided by Simon Liao and Wu Ten-Di, whose excellent birding skills are
well known. We had been told that a female Mikado with young
were often seen near the trailhead at first light. And so, we
were there very early in the cold morning. We waited and
watched. The sun rose; the morning grew brighter. The hen
pheasant and her chicks did not appear. Disappointed, some of
the group decided to walk on; others decided to stay near the
trailhead. I walked on. After a while, I thought I should
return to the trailhead and check on my husband, Hue, who had decided to stay behind. I found that he was
fine, and I turned around to continue on the trail, hoping to
catch up with the others. They soon met me, returning
triumphantly, as they had seen Mikado Pheasant not long after I
had left them! Disappointment for me, again!

Determined not to be defeated, I walked on
slowly, accompanied by Ten-Di. About 2 km from the trailhead,
Ten-Di stopped and motioned for me to look quickly down the
trail. A red, white and blue male Swinhoe’s Pheasant was slowly
stepping along in the middle of the track! Beautiful—but not
quite what I was hoping for. We kept going, walking very
slowly, softly, as quietly as possible, peering cautiously
around each bend in the trail. Suddenly, silently, Ten-Di
grabbed my arm and urgently motioned ahead. Astoundingly, there
were TWO gorgeous, blue-black male Mikado Pheasants standing on
the trail! Oh, joy! I had been cautioned that if we saw
Mikados at all, it would be a fleeting, split-second glimpse—in
view one second, gone the next. On the contrary, these two just
stood there, unconcerned. I was enchanted! We watched them
for about 2 minutes, then the birds calmly, sedately, walked off
the trail and disappeared through the undergrowth on the
mountainside. Success!!! Ten-Di and I looked at each other,
smiling happily. We turned around and started back toward the
trailhead, about 3 km away. Just then, Hue arrived,
having given up waiting for the hen and chicks, and hoping to
catch up with us. It was too late for him to see the Mikados,
unfortunately. Hue had to wait 3 more years and a total of 5
visits to Taiwan to see Mikado Pheasant, but eventually, he,
too, was successful.

Yellow Tit can be hard to find. Our Birding in
Taiwan group was lucky with it in March, 2003. Yellow Tit
is a small bird, lemon-yellow below with black upperparts. The
white tips of the crest feathers can be hard to see as the bird
is often high in the trees. A bird of mid- to high elevation
forests, it is uncommon and inconspicuous. It may mix with
other small birds, or occur alone. I have seen it many times
since that first encounter; at Huisun Forest Station, Meifeng,
Aowanda and Alishan. A shout of “Yellow Tit!” always
brings other birders running.